Charles Barkley says Blacks ‘are the worst’ at mistreating gay people

The NBA Hall of Famer called Blacks the most hateful people toward the LBGTQ+ community
Charles Barkley says Blacks 'are the worst' at mistreating gay people
Charles Barkley speaks at Morehouse College (Photo by Mo Barnes for rolling out)

NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley incited outrage and wrath in the Black community when he called African Americans the most hateful people toward members of the LBGTQ community.

Barkley was speaking to CNN in the aftermath of the horrific mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, by a White man on Sunday, Nov. 21, 2022. According to the news outlet, five people were killed and 25 were injured when the assailant walked in and began spraying the place with bullets.


But instead of condemning the alleged shooter, Barkley, the co-host of the Emmy-award-winning “Inside the NBA” on TNT, called Black people the “worst” at mistreating gays.

“One thing that’s always disappointed me: Black people [mis]treat gay people; we are the worst when it comes to [mis]treating gay people,” Barkley told the news station. “It’s always bothered me.”


This elicited a furious backlash on Black Twitter, with one person saying that “White men are shooting up gay clubs and Charles Barkley is tap-dancing on CNN saying Black people are the worst at mistreating the gay community.”

Another Twitter user was incredulous as to how Barkley could possibly equate a White man shooting up a gay nightclub with Blacks being the “worst” at mistreating members of the LBGTQ community.

Another person wondered aloud how Barkley could use an act of White domestic terrorism as an opportunity to condemn the collective character of Black Americans.

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